Invisible Slaves, Visible Lamps: A Metaphor in Apuleius

The lamps in Apuleius’s Metamorphoses are symbols of slaves, providing voiceless yet observant, even omniscient, assistance to their masters. In the realms of magic, eros, and cult initiation, these lamps illustrate various ideals and functions of slaves while elucidating the types of slavery endured in the master narrative. The use of lamps exposes and confirms widespread belief in the special knowledge of slaves as well as the anxiety that this knowledge might compromise their masters’ prestige. Also clear are the ways in which slaves were treated as surrogates for their masters, and the problems resulting from the disruption of this relation.